The regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo finally allowed the political prisoners who are being held in the Directorate of Judicial Assistance (DAJ), known as El Chipote, in Managua, to be reunited with their minor children and grandchildren, whom they did not They had seen for a year and a half that most of them were imprisoned and unjustly sentenced for fabricated crimes.
The visits were made on December 7 and 8, in the context of the celebration of “La Purísima y La Gritería”, as reported by the National Police through press release 088-2022.
This time the authorities behaved “friendly”, the search at the entrance of the prison “was not so intrusive” and during the day “a family atmosphere prevailed”. The meeting lasted four hours and some of the prisoners of conscience were able to meet with two, three and even four relatives. Visitors with children were separated from those with only adults.
The political prisoners were also stripped of their blue uniform for a few hours, in which they were exhibited last September, and they wore the clothes that their relatives brought them the day before the meeting.
The reunion between Miguel and Alejandra
The sports writer and political prisoner, Miguel Mendoza, was finally able to see and hug his daughter Alexandra Mendozaeight years old, after 534 days in prison.
The sight of Alejandra, accompanied by her mother Margin Pozo, was “very emotional.” Time passed between “hugs, kisses and all kinds of paternal love,” said Ramón Mendoza, Miguel’s brother. “Every detail” of the visit was photographed and videotaped by regime authorities.
“Alejandra was able to tell him about all her suffering. The days filled with tears, despair and prayers. In addition to her letters, drawings and audios, her first place in school, her swimming classes, reading books, her health relapses, visits to the doctor, ”Mendoza described.
The girl also shared with her father a summary of the soccer world cup and the fight between Román “Chocolatito” González and “Gallo” Estrada.
The relatives of the sports writer also emphasized that the day before the visit, the El Chipote authorities asked them to bring a shirt, pants, and shoes for the political prisoner. The clothes were delivered to the prisoner of conscience minutes before his daughter entered the prison. “Her pants were falling down, because she has lost 30 pounds. One of the officers got him a sash. His thinness cannot be hidden, ”they pointed out.
Róger Reyes moved to tears
The lawyer and political prisoner, Róger Reyes, could not contain his tears when he saw his two daughters whom he had not seen for a year and a half. His wife, Fernanda Guevara, recounts that the emotion was so great that there were times when everyone cried and laughed at the same time.
“It was very emotional after all,” Guevara said. “The girls had not seen their father for 15 months. Róger yelled his 0names and they ran out to hug him. I gave them their space, it was a moment for the three of us. They laughed, they cried, it was a mixture of emotions, ”she described.
As in the case of the sports writer, the visit of the Reyes family lasted four hours, “it was a special visit for the end of the year,” warns Guevara. The atmosphere was “calm”, it could be said that “they made it like a family restaurant”. “Maybe because there were children (the authorities) they didn’t want to attract attention,” he commented.
Reyes’s wife also appreciated that he was trying to appear “strong” and “happy” in front of his two daughters; however, his physical and emotional deterioration is evident. “He continues to fight against discouragement, with stress. That’s not going to go away with a visit, that’s going to go away when he’s free. But he wanted to present himself as a strong father in front of the girls and he succeeded, ”she stressed.
Suyen was able to see a photo of his son
Meanwhile, the former president of the Unión Democrática Renovadora (Unamos) and political prisoner, Suyen Barahona, had to settle for seeing a photograph of her son, since the boy and his father are out of the country for security reasons.
Cesar Dubois, Suyen’s husband, recounted that she “was very happy” to see in the photograph “how much the child has grown, because a year and a half has passed since the last time she saw him.” She regretted, however, that the authorities of the regime did not allow her to keep her photograph.
“We continue to insist on the right, both for Suyen and our son, to a phone call. Now, with so much technology, it’s not impossible,” Dubois emphasized.
Dubois also described that during the visit, Suyen was able to share lunch with his relatives, which was extensively photographed by the prison authorities.
In the case of the sociologist and political prisoner, Irving Larios, his relatives were able to bring him some nuts and cookies. “I was very happy to be able to see his relatives, although he still has various physical ailments, how is it that he still does not raise his left arm because it hurts a lot and they have not checked it yet,” stressed a source close to the family.
Visits in the context of La Gritería
This is the 12th visit that the Ortega-Murillo regime has allowed to the relatives of political prisoners who have been held in El Chipote for a year and a half. According to the Police, this was authorized in the context of the festivities of La Purísima and La Gritería.
“The Directorate of Judicial Assistance of the National Police of Nicaragua, informs the Nicaraguan families that, on the occasion of the festivities of La Purísima and La Gritería, today, December 7, and tomorrow, December 8, they have been and will be receiving visits of their relatives, the people in shelter in that Directorate”, the document reads.
The police note also indicates that during “these visits, the people in the shelter have been able to exchange and share food with their wives, mothers, fathers, children, grandchildren, and other members of their family nuclei.”
According to the police statement this “month of December, other similar visits will be made, sharing Christmas and New Year’s traditions.”
They place chairs and awnings in El Chipote
Relatives of the political prisoners indicated that —contrary to the previous visitsin which they have even stripped them naked to enter the prison to see their relatives— this time the Police treated them in a “decent” manner and to enter “they just put a metal detector on you and that’s it”
Prior to the visit, the relatives of the prisoners of conscience were notified by telephone that they could bring clothes to their relatives, a situation that caused them suspicion because on previous occasions they have not been allowed to bring “not even a blanket” to political prisoners.
In addition, on December 6, the relatives learned that an event truck entered El Chipote with chairs and awnings for the family visit.
According to the Mechanism for the Recognition of Political Prisoners, as of November of this year, there were 235 political prisoners in the different prisons in the country.
Of the 235 prisoners of conscience, some 225 were arrested within the context of the sociopolitical crisis that Nicaragua is experiencing as of April 2018 and 10 prior to that date.
